Are there trusts that control when an adult child can receive inherited money?
Get Legal Help Today
Compare Quotes From Top Companies and Save
Secured with SHA-256 Encryption
Are there trusts that control when an adult child can receive inherited money?
My sons, 30 and 23, do not demonstrate maturity when it comes to money. We want to know how to control their receipt and use of money that has been left to them by deceased relatives?
Asked on July 12, 2011 under Estate Planning, New Jersey
Answers:
SJZ, Member, New York Bar / FreeAdvice Contributing Attorney
Answered 13 years ago | Contributor
If they've already received the money, there is nothing you can do without their consent; inasmuch as they are both of legal age, if they have money or assets, including inherited money or assets, they can control what is done with it, and their parents have no right to do so.
However, for the future--for money they have not received, such as anything another relative or you might leave them (though for another's money, you'd need that person to set up the trust)--you can set up a trust which the money will go into, and in that trust, you can specificy various rules, guidelines, time frames, etc. for how and when they will get the money. For example, you could specify that they get some money on being married, more on the birth of each child, etc. Or that they get some money every 5 years. Or that they get money only if they earn over a certain amount in income, or get certain educational degrees, or etc. In short, if they haven't gotten the moneyl, whomever is going to give or leave it to them can set up a trust with pretty much any rules he or she likes. You should speak with an attorney about the costs, issues, etc. in doing this.
IMPORTANT NOTICE: The Answer(s) provided above are for general information only. The attorney providing the answer was not serving as the attorney for the person submitting the question or in any attorney-client relationship with such person. Laws may vary from state to state, and sometimes change. Tiny variations in the facts, or a fact not set forth in a question, often can change a legal outcome or an attorney's conclusion. Although AttorneyPages.com has verified the attorney was admitted to practice law in at least one jurisdiction, he or she may not be authorized to practice law in the jurisdiction referred to in the question, nor is he or she necessarily experienced in the area of the law involved. Unlike the information in the Answer(s) above, upon which you should NOT rely, for personal advice you can rely upon we suggest you retain an attorney to represent you.